Gonna Be A Long Wait
by LotornoMiko
Summary: While waiting for Serge to arrive at Fort Dragonia, Lynx discovers why it was not a good idea for Viper to reset all the puzzles. COMPLETED.


I own nothing, Square Soft owns Chrono Cross and all characters mentioned in this story. Not many spoilers here, in fact, the only way you'll be spoiled is if you haven't played the game at all. Takes place during the Fort Dragonia scenario.  
----Michelle  
  
  
  
"Be on guard men...." General Viper advised, placing a nervous hand over his sword's hilt. "It could be anywhere...." Twelve nervous eyes darted to the shadows of the room, wondering what other danger lurked---what other form death might take...six Dragoons--where there had once been twenty...  
"Are we almost done here?" Lynx asked, the half man-half panther padded into the room, his booted heels giving no advance warning of his presence. Six Dragoons and one Lord of the Manor all managed to keep from jumping off the floor in fright, although many were unable to keep from voicing their fear with a few curses.   
"Geezus! Where'd he come from?!"   
"Moves about like a freaking ghost!"  
"A ghost? More like a demon...."  
"That's enough!" roared General Viper. "You four, light the torches." Timidly, four men broke formation, approaching the torches. Once lit, the room took on a distinctly golden appearance, the mirrored floor reflecting back the bronze of the walls at them. A small staircase led up to an alter built into the wall, housing a crystal as black as the moonless night. The room's only other feature was a balcony overlooking the crystal.  
"That's what we're after." Viper explained to Lynx. "The final switch to be tossed, and then the way to the summit shall be opened."  
"So do it, and let's be off." Lynx said, crossing his arms over his chest.  
"Er yes...you!" Viper pointed at a man. "Take care of it, will you?"  
"Do I have too?" The soldier groaned under his breath, but still he made his hesitant way up the stairs. Just as his foot grazed the final step, a pinkish mass fell from the ceiling.  
"Look out!"  
"Gah!" The man cried, arms windmilling as he attempted to keep his balance. The blob landed at the base of the stairs, the soldiers already surrounding it, battle stances at the ready.   
"Tch...these battle do get tiresome..." Viper said, attempting to draw his sword.  
"Allow me..." Lynx said, one hand on Viper's arm, stopping his movement. "I could use a warm up...."  
"By all means." agreed Viper.  
Stalking forward, his scythe balanced on one shoulder, the cat man calmly assessed his opponent. The man on the staircase at last toppled backward, falling into and through the blob, emerging a slime covered, hysterical fool. The pink mass quivered, just before casting Inferno on the six soldiers. The men danced about as they experienced a severe case of hot foot.  
"Too easy." decided Lynx, as he stepped between the guards and the blob. Perhaps the monster could understand human language, for it seemed to swell up with rage, long tendrils reaching out to slap at Lynx. These the panther easily side stepped, wondering when---if the fight would at some point become a challenge.  
Instead of striking with a red element, this time it chose to go with a black spell. It shot out gravity blow, the dark ball of energy rebounding off of Lynx's scythe. "Let me show you a real black element spell little one...." The lips of Lynx's mouth curled back, revealing his canines as he smirked. His fist began glowing, and he held it up for all to see. Then he slammed it into the ground, and the glowing spread from him to the floor, surrounding the monster on all sides. "Forever Zero..." whispered Lynx, and a mass of energy appeared between him and the monster. Within seconds, the blob lay on the floor, twitching one last time before it died.  
"Can we go now?" Lynx hooked the scythe back over his right shoulder, and walked up the stairs, flipping the switch.  
"Ah yes...the elevator should be operational now...." Viper said.   
"Good..." Lynx was already sweeping past Viper, back into the maze of Fort Dragonia.   
"Pity Riddel wouldn't come with us..." Viper said, as he hurried after Lynx. "Her revive spells would have been handy."  
"I can't believe you would want to save such useless idiots...." Lynx said, a few strikes from his scythe dismantling a Cy-bot.  
"Oh it's not them I want to use the spells for." explained Viper. "We need to bring back the monsters....."  
"Whatever for?"  
"For Serge and his friends." Viper replied, walking across the narrow bridge towards the elevator. "It's no fun if they just get to us without completing any challenges."  
"Hmph...fun..." scoffed Lynx, just as the elevator activated. "It will save us a lot of time if we can get this confrontation over with....!!" Their bodies turned transparent and insubstantial, floating up and through the ceiling, to land on a balcony.  
"Some ride eh?" chuckled Viper. "The first time I tried it, I nearly spilled my breakfast all over the floor."   
"Er yes..." Lynx said, feeling his fur stand straight up in fright over this wild ride. "That was...interesting..."  
"Well...here we are..." Viper said, pushing open doors that could double as walls. They were more than just big, reaching from floor to the ceiling, and being just as wide as they were high.   
"So this is what lies at the summit of Fort Dragonia..." Lynx murmured, only half interested in his surroundings. The room was cylindrical shape, the focal point being six dragons carved in stone---each one representing a different element's color. Faintly glowing lines led from the silent guardians to the exact center of the room, a small alter who's original purpose had long since been forgotten. That didn't matter now...it would hold his---the Forgotten Flame would be it's new burden to carry.  
Placing the ice colored jewel on the alter, a moth eaten mural caught Lynx's eyes. "An odd piece to be found in a place of war, eh?" Viper fingered the mural, dust shifting off it. "It's supposed to be a representation of evolution...at least that what Luccia tells me." Viper shrugged. "I never bought into that 'man came from monkey's' business...the thought of humans being that closely associated with animals is just downright disgusting...." A low growl from Lynx caused the general to hastily add, "No offense meant."  
"None taken..." Lynx said softly, stepping forward to run his hands over an image of a large creature crashing into the planet.   
"Here it is..." Viper said, pressing down on the sun symbol. The floor shook for a second, and one by one, the six dragon statues' lights went out, leaving them in darkness....  
"What did you do?!" hissed Lynx, stalking towards Viper.  
"Nothing much...." Viper said, his demeanor that of one completely calm and at peace with his actions. "I just reset all the puzzles......"  
"WHAT?!" Lynx grabbed him by the arms. "Why would you do something like that?!"  
"I already told you...." VIper pushed Lynx away from him. "It's no fun if they just come straight up here."  
"Fun for WHO?!" Lynx snarled.  
"Well...for us..." Viper ignored Lynx's disbelieving snort. "Well for me....I know I always get a feeling of satisfaction in knowing my opponents are worthy of challenging me."   
"Well, I don't care about any such thing...." hissed Lynx.  
"What do you care about then, sir Lynx?" asked Viper.  
"Never mind that...." Lynx strode towards the door.   
"Where are you going?" demanded Viper.   
"Where do you think?!" Lynx retorted. "To round up your men...together we are gonna reactivate all the crystals, to speed up Serge's journey."  
"You can't do that!" protested Viper.  
"Watch me." smirked Lynx, pulling open the doors. He was almost disappointed when Viper did not try to stop him, the anger he currently felt at the senile old fool would have been somewhat satisfied by a battle between them---one sided as it may have been.  
But instead of pleading with him, or grabbing hold of him, Viper just watched Lynx go. "He''ll be back." The old man whispered confidently to himself, a grim smile on his face.   
A few minutes later, a stone faced Lynx walked back in. "The elevator won't work." He said through gritted teeth.  
"Of course it won't." Viper nodded. "Not without the crystals activated."  
"Well, how are we supposed to go down then?!" demanded Lynx, trying to control the urge he had developed---the urge to sink his claws into Viper's face.  
Viper blinked, confused by the question. "Go down? Why would you want to leave before the big battle---the one you said you have been looking forward to for almost ten years now...."   
"I don't want to leave....."  
"But you just said you did..." interrupted Viper.  
"I was speaking hypothetically!" shouted Lynx.   
"Then you should have said so."  
"Next time I will."  
"See that you do."  
"I will!" snapped Lynx. "But...let's just say...if for some reason we needed to get off this floor...like say a fire broke out...."  
"The stone is fire proof..." Viper said.   
"..........what if we get hungry...?"  
"Got that covered..." Viper reached into his cape, and pulled out a candy bar. "Chock full of nutrients, and builds energy reserves."  
"........" Lynx ignored the candy being offered to him. "What about if one of us need to use the bathroom---and don't say do it in the corner!" Lynx hissed.  
"Hmm...." Viper had to think about this one. "We could always lean over the balcony..." A very angry growl made him change his answer. "I guess we'll have to wait for Serge to come along and reactivate the elevator."   
"And what if they never come close to reaching us?!" Lynx demanded.  
"Hmmm.....didn't think of that...." Viper muttered.   
"Obviously!"   
"Cheer up...My Devas will come to our rescue." Viper replied.  
"Hmph...you really think three people will fare better than the twenty you brought with you? Of which only six remain?" Lynx asked.  
"Those were Dragoons. Marcy, Karsh, and Zoah are Devas."  
"And the difference is.....?"   
"In order to be a Deva you must succesfully complete Fort Dragonia's puzzles, and survive the monsters." explained Viper. "They should have no trouble getting up here...."  
*************************************************************************  
And at that very moment.....  
"What do you mean the elevator's stuck?!" demanded Karsh.  
"SOMEONE SHUT OFF THE POWER." Zoah explained.   
"Like, can they do that?" Marcy asked, blues eyes wide with disbelief.  
"IF THEY DEACTIVATE THE CRYSTALS YES."  
"Then like what do we do?!" The young Deva cried.  
"You any good at climbing?" asked Karsh, head craned back to stare up the shaft that led to where they needed to go.  
"That's like totally gonna ruin my nails!" Marcy said, with a pout.  
******************************************************************************  
"You sure you don't want to play cards with me?" Viper said, looking up from what he considered to be an intense game of solitaire. "It'll make the time go by quicker."  
"For the thousandth time NO." Lynx said, from his spot against the room. He was leaning against the wall, eyes intent on the Dragons. The two closest to him, the green one and the red one were glowing, an unlit Black one stood between them. "I have to admit...as foolish a move as it was to shut off the crystals, this does allow us a way to track Serge's every move..."   
The blue Dragon lit up next. "He just defeated the Bunnyip." Lynx smiled. "Not even ten minutes have gone by since killing the Taurasoid."  
"Don't get too happy..." Viper said, still flipping over cards. "He still has to face the Yellow Dragon puzzle...they ALWAYS get stuck on that one...."  
"Not Serge..." Lynx said confidently. "I'm positive he'll be moving on to the next challenge within minutes..."  
************************************************************************  
"This is stupid!" announced Kid, a scowl on her face. "I knew Lynx was a coward, and forcing us to do this idiotic puzzles instead of fighting us face to face just proves it!"   
"You know man...you really need to take a chill pill..." The rocker musician Nikki advised. "I'm sure if we all just calmed down and focused, we could figure out a way to reach that crystal."   
"Maybe if you would grow a few inches, I could climb on your back and reach that ledge!' Kid glared at the musician. "But no! I'm stuck with two pip squeak's like you!"  
"That's harsh man..." Nikki said with a frown. "Serge, what do you have to say about it?"  
"He never says anything." Kid said, before Serge could even open his mouth. "He leads through action alone, ain't that right mate?"  
".............." Instead of replying, Serge walked away from his two bickering comrades, slipping into a small room.  
"Not this crap again..." Kid said with a roll of her eyes. "Not more of this, "Change the body crap...."  
"Wait...I think Serge has an idea...." Nikki said. "What is it boy?"  
The blue haired man gestured for Kid to come in the lead, with Nikki in second place, and he in third. "I get it...." Nikki said excitedly. "That's just crazy enough to work man!"  
"What?" demanded Kid, not seeing what was the point in all of this. "I'll stand here cause it's you asking me to, but I don't see how this is gonna get us any closer to getting that red crystal..." Once all three were in place, a white light flashed, and a small rumble was heard.   
"Something happened!" Kid said, dashing past the two men, and back into the main room.   
"It's changed!" Nikki cried.  
"Oi Serge! You're a bloody genius!" cried Kid. "Looks like we're one step closer to reaching that crystal!"  
*******************************************************************  
Not quite two hours later, and all but the black dragon had been lit up. Viper and Lynx were both sitting on the floor, playing a game of poker---a game that was about to become strip poker......  
"Look.....if you didn't have the money, you shouldn't have placed that wager...now off with the pants!" snapped General Viper.  
"But....."  
"No buts!" Viper retorted. "Either take 'em off, or I will....." Suddenly the final black dragon lit up.  
"We'll have to settle this later...they're here..." A very relieved Lynx said, dropping the cards onto the floor.   
"Don't think a little thing like a fight to the death will make me forget you owe me a pair of pants..." muttered Viper, standing up, and stretching.   
Once again, the huge doors open, and a voice all too familiar to Lynx shouts, "C',on mate!!" Serge, Nikki and Kid ran into the room, stopping a few feet short of the alter that currently houses the Frozen Flame.  
"Finally!" Lynx said, unable to keep the relief out of his voice. "We've been expecting you...."   
  
Ende....  
  
  
This is just an idea I had when going through Fort Dragonia for the third time on New Game +. It was fresh on the heels of my second trip through, where I got stuck on lighting up the yellow Dragon statue---the whole dumb, "Change the body of the snake" puzzle. The first and third time it didn't take me that long, but the second time---argh! It was during my third trip, in an attempt to get far enough in the game to get the "Life at the Manor 2" ending, that I started thinking about how Lynx and Viper could easily keep track of Serge's progress...and what they would think of when he got stuck on one of the puzzles/boss. This fic was what came from too much thinking...it was supposed to be humorous...I dunno what it actually is...but thanks for reading. And even more thanks if you review. (Hint hint!)  
  



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